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As the dust settles on an enthralling World Cup which concluded merely a month and a half ago, the International elites braced themselves for another leg of competitive football, this time in the form of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Kicking things off for the topmost division of the tournament - League A - were two European heavyweights who underwent contrasting narratives in Russia. Germany were looking for vindication following their group stage exit. France, on the other hand, were looking to hit the accelerator right from the get-go since their triumphant night at the Luzhniki.
Didier Deschamps fielded the same side that drubbed Croatia 4-2 on 15th July with the exception of Hugo Lloris, who missed out with an injury and was replaced by debutant Alphonse Areola. Die Mannschaft took to life after Mesut Ozil as Joachim Low named a largely similar playing XI to the one that underperformed in Russia with Matthias Ginter being the only new face.
Despite both teams having a decent set of chances, the game ended in a goalless draw, which by all means, was a fair result given the performance of either side on the night. Germany managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time in nine games, a silver lining for them.
Let us now look at the five talking points from the game that transpired at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
#1 A relaxed France and a cautious Germany on display in the first half
Given their fall from grace in epic proportions, it was expected that Die Mannschaft would play a conservative brand of football. What was not expected though, was Germany dominating the proceedings early on.
Germany took the game to Les Bleus right from the kickoff. They showed the early impetus, held majority of the possession, maintained shape in midfield, and put the pressure on the visitors. France though were pretty comfortable in fending off the home side as they sat deep and conjured counter-attacks of their own. The home side never overcommitted on attack and were always wary of a possible break. This continued for the first half hour.
Slowly but surely, the World Champions grew into the game. Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe brought out all the tricks and created a string of chances as we moved towards the close of the first half.
The first 45 minutes did not yield any goals but France were arguably the better side at this juncture. It also gave us a view of the respective mindsets of the two teams coming into the game. France exuberated confidence on the back of their World Cup triumph. Germany on the other hand, displayed caution, yet had the drive to leave their demons behind and start afresh.
#2 Fresh tactics employed by Germany
There were a lot of issues with Joachim Low's side that had a disastrous campaign in Russia. In a rather pleasant turn of events, the German manager seemed eager to rectify a lot of those wrongs as he implemented a series of new tactical moves.
The presence of both Matthias Ginter and Joshua Kimmich in the starting line-up had a lot of fans scratching their heads and many pondered whether the Bayern Munich right-back would find himself donning a role in the midfield. The same speculation was confirmed as Kimmich started off as a holding midfielder. Ginter slotted into his favoured right-back position.
Let us go back to the three group stage games that Germany played in the World Cup 2018. The only time they were able to contain counter-attacks well was for those 30 odd minutes against Sweden when a certain Sebastian Rudy, a defensive-minded midfielder, was on the pitch. Also, Kimmich was guilty of charging way too high up the pitch, thereby leaving the centre-backs exposed.
With this move, Low ensured that Kimmich's defensive abilities would help in maintaining shape of Germany's midfield. Even if the former RB Leipzig player decided to go on an attacking venture, Ginter would hold fort defensively.
Putting Antonio Rudiger into the left-back position was also a welcomed move as the Chelsea player's physicality gave Mbappe quite a challenge.
One of Timo Werner's strongest attributes is his pace and the ability to take on defenders in one-on-one situations. In an era of deep back lines, Werner was unable to utilise these skills of his in the World Cup. Against France though, he started on the left flank and often switched positions with Thomas Muller who started on the other wing. Marco Reus started up front. Needless to say, the RB Leipzig talisman had a much better game compared to his World Cup outings and he caused a lot of problems to Pavard.
Germany also pressed from the front, causing the likes of Samuel Umtiti and N'Golo Kante to misplace a few passes.
#3 Alphonse Areola shines on France debut
Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola holds the dubious record of winning the World Cup with France despite never having represented the senior side. Hugo Lloris took the job between the sticks in Russia whereas Kevin Trapp played second fiddle.
A thigh injury to the Tottenham Hotspur No.1 gave Areola the opportunity he needed and Deschamps had no hesitation in giving him his first cap for France.
Areola was barely tested in the first half as Germany failed to create quality opportunities. In the second half though, when the home side did start dominating the game near the hour mark, Areola made sure he denied the men in white shirts every time and made a series of fantastic saves.
He was first tested by a curling long-range effort from Reus which he effectively parried behind for a corner. Muller then tried his luck with an improvised cross from the left flank which was headed towards the top right corner of Areola's goal but the debutant was able to save that as well. His best save of the night came when he fended off a close-range Matthias Ginter header from a corner kick.
Areola was undoubtedly France's best player on the night and he would most certainly be proud of his first outing for Les Bleus.
#4 Should Rudiger have been sent off?
Antonio Rudiger is definitely a much better player right now than what he was a year ago. He is more composed on the ball, brings aggressiveness to the table, and has great aerial ability.
Tonight though, Rudiger played the role of a left-back as opposed to his favoured position of a centre-back. By no means was Rudiger poor on the night. He linked up with Werner well, contained Mbappe to a fair extent, and made his presence felt on set pieces. But there was one incident during the match which involved him and Benjamin Pavard which went rather unnoticed by the officials.
It was only the third minute of the game when Rudiger was in possession high up the pitch near France's penalty box and he decided to charge forward. Pavard made a sliding tackle to halt the German but was seemingly caught by Rudiger's boots and went down.
What initially looked like an exaggeration of sorts by the Stuttgart player, after replays looked like a deliberate move by Rudiger as he caught Pavard's neck with his studs twice. The referee and the assistants completely failed to spot the incident. Rudiger walked away without being penalized for a challenge that seemingly deserved a straight red card.
An expulsion so early on in the game would have easily tilted things in France's favour and the end result could have been a lot different.
#5 Sky is the limit for Mbappe
If you believe that Kylian Mbappe is the best player in the French squad over the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, not many would argue with your assessment. At 19 years of age, the PSG stalwart has the world at his feet.
Tonight might not have been his best outing in a France shirt but it reiterated his potential and just how good he is. Mbappe was the main outlet for the visitors' counterattacks today when Germany dominated proceedings in the first half. The ease with which he ambled into the attacking third of the pitch was delightful to see.
Mbappe was given the freedom to stroll across the pitch and wreak havoc which is exactly what he did. His pace had Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels on their toes and his hold up play allowed his teammates to get into attacking positions and mesh with the youngster. His tricks, flicks and slick passes had everyone in awe.
Mbappe put in a shift defensively as well, winning back the ball in his own half on two occasions.
This brings us back to that one question that has been asked over and over again. "If he is so good now, how good will he be in his prime years?" Only time will tell us that, but there is no doubting that the Frenchman has an excellent career ahead of him.
